A Rainy Day on Tattooine
by star bunny
Summary: Set many years after RoTJ, Leia and Luke visit Tattooine and learn about letting go of the past


I wrote this while I was in a very sappy mood. Hope it isn't too cheesy, but I like it! :)  
This is a short fic about a visit Leia and Luke take to Tattooine for a very special   
commemoration. Please make sure you review!  
  
  
A Rainy Day on Tattooine  
by: Star Bunny  
rated: G  
~~~  
  
It was a rainy day on Tattooine. As the senator walked regally down plank, she was   
amazed at just how appropriate the scene was. How long had it been since she had   
visited her brother's home world? Much too long, she supposed. But then, it couldn't   
have been helped. There were matters of state to attend to, as well as her recently   
failing health. She smiled as she told herself that it was only natural for people her age   
to begin to feel their age.  
  
The lazy droplets of rain began to collect in her snowy hair, but Leia didn't mind. She   
wasn't going anywhere without her brother. She turned slightly as she sensed him   
approaching the door. Funny how it was that everything else in her body was   
deteriorating, but her senses had grown ever so much sharper, especially her   
connection with him.  
  
Luke stepped hesitantly off the ship, leaning on his cane for support. She smiled slightly   
as a wave of love swept over her, and she was suddenly intensely grateful that he had   
decided to join her on this trip. Not that he would ever turn down a trip to Tattooine... but   
she was grateful for his support anyway.  
  
Today was always the most difficult day of the year, and this year was worse than most.   
Today was a day to remember, but it was also a time to forget - and there were many   
things that Leia wished that she could forget. But for now, it was her duty to remember.   
Today was the hundredth anniversary of the destruction of Alderaan.  
  
"You ready, old woman?"  
  
Leia jerked her head up at the sound, almost not recognizing Luke.  
  
"I was waiting on you, old man!" Then, with the most tender of gestures formed only   
over decades of love and devotion, he took her hand in his and they began to walk   
towards the waiting speeder.  
  
How alone she felt! And she was sure that Luke's presence was doing much to   
compose her, but nothing could overcome the intense grief she felt.  
  
Last night, the only remaining Alderaani had died on his way to the ceremony. The news   
had been brought to Leia that morning via hologram, but there was not much the man   
could tell her. It was a lonely feeling being the last of your race.  
  
She calmly accepted Luke's hand to step into the speeder. She need only remain   
collected for the remainder of the ceremony, and then she would be able to release her   
emotions.  
  
As the speeder made its way through the winding roads of Mos Eisely, Luke and Leia   
shared a private laugh at the way the residents cowered inside their homes, seemingly   
afraid of the gentle rain shower. It almost reminded Leia of the first time she had seen   
Luke in a rainstorm. Ah, but that had been too many years ago! She wasn't even sure   
she still remembered which planet they had been on.  
  
As they approached the square, the streets became more and more crowded, forcing   
the speeder to slow down. Leia looked out into the crowds, amazed at how young each   
of them looked. She had the sudden shocking feeling that not one of them had been   
alive when her beloved home was destroyed.  
  
"Kind of makes you feel a little old, doesn't it?" Luke whispered. Leia jumped, surprised   
that he had voiced the thought rather than relaying the feeling through the Force. They   
had grown so much closer over the years that they usually communicated out loud only   
for the benefit of others.  
  
"Only if you consider one-hundred-nineteen to be old," she smiled back. Luke smiled   
also, reminiscent of his younger smile -- his innocent smile -- that had seemed to vanish   
the day he returned from the Death Star.  
  
"Just you remember who is the older twin!"  
  
"Older and wiser," she replied in kind. She was about to start teasing him again when a   
little girl in the crowd caught her attention. She could have been no older than seven and   
was very obviously missing her two front teeth.  
  
"Daddy," she tugged on her father's tunic, "Daddy, who are those people?"  
  
"Senator Leia Organa and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, honey. They are here to speak   
about Alderaan."  
  
"What's Alderaan?" she asked simply, but her innocent question broke Leia's heart.  
  
"Stop," she whispered to the driver. She motioned for him to help her out, and she   
made her way through the crowd to the little girl.  
  
"What is your name, dear?" she asked, her voice slightly choked.  
  
"Shana," the girl replied nervously.  
  
"Shana, what do you know about Alderaan?"  
  
The girl froze, afraid that she had somehow insulted this very nice looking woman.   
"Nothing, ma'am."  
  
"Well, then! Come with me, and I will tell you a story, okay?" Shana glanced back at her   
father for approval and, at his nod, followed Leia to the speeder. The trip to the stage   
was very quick, but Shana was wide-eyed and nervous the entire way. They made their   
way up to the podium and Leia looked out at the crowd.  
  
"Last night I learned what it meant to be lonely. I have outlived my parents, my friends,   
my children, and my husband - but I never thought I would outlive my own race. Last   
night I lost the last of my people, the last of my planet. And even though I had never met   
him until many years after Alderaan had ceased to exist, we shared a common bond in   
that we were the only ones who could understand what it is like to lose a home in the way   
we did." She turned to look down at the little girl standing beside her.  
  
"Shana, Alderaan was my home. It was a planet much like Tattooine is now. A cozy,   
inviting planet that everyone wanted to call home. I grew up in the most beautiful palace   
in the entire universe, one that no longer exists. My memories were formed in secret   
hiding places and friendly spots, which now remain only in my mind. When I was your   
age, I did not realize what a wonderful gift I had been given. There is something magical   
about a place that you can call home, Shana. Always remember that."  
  
She took a deep breath before she continued. "But more importantly, I want you to   
remember that there are times to let go. Someone wiser than I once said that time heals   
all wounds. I believe that they were right. Shana, there are many hurtful things in life, but   
we should never dwell on the hurts.  
  
"For the past hundred years, I have lived in my sorrow, making myself remember and   
forcing myself to feel sorrow. But that ends today."  
  
She glanced back at Luke, seeking the support and strength that he gave her. "I have   
come to say goodbye to Alderaan for the last time. One hundred years is too long to   
hold on to sorrow, and I refuse to call it my own any longer. There is no reason to dwell   
on the first twenty years of my life when I've had one hundred others filled with joy and   
happiness." Her eyes sparkled with humor as she once again glanced back to Luke.   
"Years ago, when I missed Alderaan more than I ever thought possible, I told Luke that I   
would see a rainy day on Tatooine before I would leave my home behind - well, it is   
raining today!"  
  
Leia slowly reached her gnarled hands to her neck to take off the necklace that hung   
there. Hanging on the gold chain was the emblem of the royal family of Alderaan - she   
had not gone a day without wearing it since the end of the war. Now, with hardly a shake   
in her hand, she placed the necklace over the little girl's head and smiled, satisfied. "I   
want you to have this, Shana. It is very old and very special to me. Please take care of   
it?" Shana nodded solemnly, her eyes wide and awed. Leia lifted her eyes to the grey,   
wet sky in the direction that Alderaan would have been and gave it a half-salute. Then,   
with a whisper so soft it was almost a sigh, she smiled at the crowd and said, "May   
Alderaan always live in your hearts."  
  
~~~  
  
THE END  
  
Any comments are appreciated! (bunny28@hehe.com)  
  
Bunny ^_^ 


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